Chapter 13: Attack of the Harpies

Because he couldn't stand Wayne's urging, Geralt set off with him after breakfast.

However, it was not easy to reach the Place of Power in the back mountain of Kaer Morhen. Not only did they have to sail across a lake next to the castle, but they also had to climb a rugged mountain road and pass through a pitch-black cave to reach it.

Bidding farewell to the other companions, the two soon left the castle and came to the lakeside. Fortunately, due to Wayne's efforts during this period, the drowners by the lake had been killed by him. Without the interference of these troublemakers, they soon found a dilapidated small boat and began to sail to the opposite shore of the lake.

After getting on the boat, Wayne adjusted the direction of the sail. Seeing the nostalgic expression on Geralt's face, he asked:

"Geralt, what are you thinking about?"

"Looking at your expression, did something happen here?"

The White Wolf heard this, reached out and touched the lake water, was dazed for a few seconds, and then revealed a bitter smile, saying:

"It's just remembering some things from the past."

"Wayne, Kaer Morhen now trains fewer and fewer apprentices, and many previous rules have been abandoned, so you haven't experienced them."

"When I became a Witcher, the Trial of the Grasses would take the lives of more than 70% of Witcher apprentices."

"And even if they survived the Trial of the Grasses and completed the basic training, we had to accept one final trial."

"The route we are taking now is the route of the final trial."

Geralt looked up, looked into Wayne's eyes, and said with some emotion:

"At that time, there were eight apprentices who passed the Trial of the Grasses with me, but only four passed the final trial."

"And a year later, the other two also died at the hands of other monsters, leaving only me and Eskel alive."

"So, for many Witcher apprentices, becoming a Witcher is a very unfortunate thing."

Wayne was silent upon hearing this. Counting it this way, there should have been more than twenty children who underwent training with Geralt, and they only survived less than one-tenth.

The survival rate of becoming a Witcher is really sigh-worthy.

Sailing on the lake for about half an hour, luck was not bad, and no accidents occurred.

However, just after getting off the boat, the two encountered an attack by a group of about a dozen harpies on the river beach on the opposite shore of the lake.

Seeing this group of monsters attacking from the sky, Geralt didn't say a word, put a Quen Sign on himself, and was the first to pick up his sword and rush up.

He dodged while swinging his silver sword, blocking the attack of the harpy group, but because there were too many enemies, he appeared somewhat embarrassed.

Wayne didn't act rashly. This was his first time seeing a harpy, and it was also his first time encountering a flying monster.

According to the description in the book, a harpy is a hybrid beast with a human face, bird beak, wings, and claws, emitting a stench of rotting corpses and bird droppings, looking very ugly, and liking to make hair-raising calls.

Their wings are quite flexible, allowing them to turn freely in the air, and their attack method is similar to an eagle, using the high speed brought by diving to attack enemies with their beaks and claws.

However, because of their deformed body structure, once they land on the ground, they will appear very clumsy, and their combat effectiveness will drop sharply.

Thinking of this, Wayne held his sword in his right hand in a defensive stance, made the hand gesture for the Axii Sign with his left hand toward a harpy flying in the sky.

With the high-speed circulation of magic power in his body, Wayne drew a magic circle with his left hand and pushed lightly. A harpy flying in the sky was like being hit by an electric current, its eyes were dull, and its body was stiff, falling straight down.

It was about ten meters away from the ground, and such a high-altitude fall without any preparation directly broke its wings, and the severe pain made its limbs roll and struggle constantly on the ground.

No words were needed. Geralt seized the opportunity, immediately rolled, came to the side of the harpy, and the sharp silver sword directly pierced its heart, easily solving this monster.

After discovering this good method, Wayne immediately followed suit, continuously released the Axii Sign eight times, and successfully cooperated with Geralt to kill eight harpies.

But even after half of the members were killed, these low-intelligence monsters still didn't know what fear and escape were.

They still flapped their wings and attacked Geralt, who was surrounded, without regard for their own safety.

And because of continuous blocking and rolling, the White Wolf's stamina was also consumed a lot, and he could no longer achieve 100% defense, and several scars were made on his body and face by these harpies.

Seeing this scene, Wayne didn't hesitate anymore and shouted to Geralt:

"Geralt, come to my side and lure the monsters over."

The White Wolf heard Wayne's shout, didn't hesitate, immediately knocked away a harpy's claws attacking him with the hilt of his sword, and neatly rolled to the side, rolling toward Wayne's direction.

How could the remaining seven or eight harpies let go of the prey that was about to reach their mouths? Their barren brains didn't have any thinking at all, and they instinctively flew toward Geralt.

And at this time, Wayne's Igni Sign had been brewing for seven or eight seconds, almost gathering most of the magic power in his body on his hands.

Watching Geralt and the monsters behind him enter his attack range, Wayne shouted.

"Get down quickly."

The magic power in his hands immediately surged toward the monsters in the sky.

The level eight Sign level can strengthen Wayne's spell intensity by 40%, plus this time his Igni almost condensed the magic power of seven or eight ordinary Signs.

In an instant, a surging orange-red flame sprayed out from Wayne's palm.

It directly enveloped the sky about ten meters in front, wrapping all the remaining seven or eight harpies inside.

The surging flames caused the temperature of the surrounding air to rise by more than ten degrees.

Accompanied by the shrill wails of the monsters, the bodies of those harpies were all scorched by the high-temperature flames, and their external skin and feathers were burned into charcoal by the high temperature, turning into scorched corpses one by one, falling from high altitude.

Geralt crawled up from the ground, looking at the scene in front of him with some shock. He had only seen such spell power in the hands of sorcerers. He turned his head in disbelief and asked Wayne:

"Are you sure the Sign you cast is the Igni Sign?"

"Why does it feel completely different from the ones we use?"

Wayne rubbed his palms, which seemed to be scalded by the high temperature of the flames, looked at the White Wolf innocently, and said:

"That's right, my Sign knowledge is the same as yours, both taught by Master Vesemir."

"Maybe my talent is a little better than yours."

Geralt was speechless, took out a bottle of Swallow potion and drank it, and complained:

"Your problem is not just a little better than mine, Wayne."

"Perhaps you should become a sorcerer, not a Witcher who fights with a sword."

Wayne spread his hands and reminded:

"I have already become a Witcher, so what's the use of saying this now."

"Why don't we go find the nests of these harpies? I've seen in books that harpies like to collect shiny items."

"There will likely be gold coins, gems, or other valuable things in their nests."

Hearing about coins, Geralt stopped struggling with the previous question, nodded in agreement, and said:

"Yes, I once found several pieces of jewelry in a harpy's nest and exchanged them for hundreds of Orens."

"Since we will be teaming up to perform missions for the next few years, let's split the spoils fifty-fifty according to the rules."

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 14 =====